E! Live from the Red Carpet

Seacrest promoted his four-year-old Ryan Seacrest Distinction collection on the Oscar red carpet, and his partners seem to be sticking by him. Macy's, which exclusively stocks Seacrest's collection of suits and lifestyle wear, hasn't pulled any of his merchandise. Meanwhile, skincare expert Dr. Harold Lancer, who helped Seacrest launch Polished by Dr. Lancer and Ryan Seacrest last year, says: “I have known Ryan for over 15 years and he was absolutely the best partner for Polished. We stand by him and are looking forward to our future brand plans.”

Viewers weren't apparently interested in watching Seacrest on the red carpet six days after his accuser went public with allegations of his sexual misconduct. The 35% drop from last year outpaced the steep drop the Oscar ceremony suffered. Meanwhile, Live with Kelly and Ryan saw its best-ever ratings with the post-Oscars show filmed in the Dolby Theatre.

Unlike previous Oscars, where Seacrest had an elevated platform, he was far less conspicuous this year, joining the rest of the press on the red carpet as many A-list stars didn't even stop to talk to him. "E!’s decision to move forward with Seacrest as the red-carpet host was a poor one, and not only because it made the pre-show a drag," says Christina Cauterucci. "Seacrest’s presence cast a fog over the whole program, undercutting every segment with a reminder of the ways capitalism uses sex and sexism to grease its machinery."

E! is planning several "defensive scenarios" for today's E! Live from the Red Carpet broadcast in response to Seacrest's sexual harassment scandal, according to Deadline's source. Another insider added: "The plan being considered is to mainly ensure plenty of time to either cut to Giuliana or to pull the plug altogether unnoticed if an on-camera encounter with Ryan goes into tricky territory." Asked to respond, an E! spokesperson said this morning: "It’s business as usual. As always, we tape multiple sources of content simultaneously to deliver the best possible show, and there are often brief delays between interviews.”

Rob Silverstein, Access Hollywood's executive producer, tells Page Six he has instructed hosts Scott Evans and Kit Hoover to grill celebrities about the #MeToo movement and the politics surrounding it. “And then,” he added, “we will ask them whether or not they will talk to Ryan Seacrest.” Page Six also reports that "celebrities have been practicing answers to the inevitable barrage of questions involving alleged abusers Harvey Weinstein and Woody Allen, and publicists have been working overtime to make sure their clients 'don’t step in a pile of sh*t' during interviews, as one Los Angeles publicist with Oscar-nominated clients said."

“We shouldn’t have to make those choices of, ‘Do we or don’t we?'” says Tarana Burke, founder of the #MeToo movement, adding that Seacrest shouldn't be on the red carpet. This is not about his guilt or innocence,” she adds. “It’s about there being an accusation that’s alive, and until they sort of out, it’s really on E! News and shouldn’t be on us. … It will let us know where they stand in terms of how respectful E! News is of this issue – and of women.”

The former E! News host responded to ex-producer Aileen Gram-Moreno's formal complaint that she was ordered to censor mentions of Sadler's name. “It’s disappointing that any network would order the censorship of opinions,” Sadler told Variety Saturday. “But it’s particularly disturbing in this case because we are at a cultural tipping point where women feel more and more comfortable being vocal about issues like pay equality and sexual misconduct. To shut down those conversations is to stifle progress.”

Sonia Saraiya wonders why Seacrest has been seemingly unaffected by his sexual harassment scandal, details of which were reported this week in her publication Variety. "I can’t objectively defend Variety," she writes. "But I can observe that Seacrest is engaging in his own public-opinion chess, with a skill we haven’t seen from other accused men. Unlike them, Seacrest is a man whose primary marketable talent is continuing to be generally liked; he is a master of this form. And this behavior from him is a play — a belligerent, entitled, corporate-sponsored play that exploits the weaknesses in a system that is designed to work against victims of harassment. Seacrest and his publicity team have taken special note of how the judgment of crowds imperfectly aligns with the judgment of courts; of how, in the age of reality-star president Donald Trump, arrogant denial has surprising weight with the viewing audience. That Seacrest’s on-air persona is an appealingly inoffensive one adds to his power; if that persona is merely a performance, viewers at home don’t know the difference."

"I’ve walked the red carpet," Griffin writes in a Time magazine essay. "I’ve worked it—been hired and fired from it. And I’m still a viewer and fan who hosts red carpet parties at my house, sometimes with a boyfriend who isn’t quite sure why we’re watching. I get it: Even I’ve been fast-forwarding lately. The culture of the carpet needs to change...The red carpet needs to reflect the kind of personable interaction that we’re now able to have with celebrities. You can communicate with a celebrity via Twitter now; they’re not glass statues that need to be admired from 100 feet away. And it’s not about the dresses or about pirouetting like women are toys in a music box. Ninety percent of the viewers are aware that many of these women who are now showing up with jewels in their hair and a smile on their face have been sexually assaulted. These women believe in their projects and they want to talk about them, and they have other things to talk about sometimes, too."

Amid Ryan Seacrest's sexual harassment scandal, E! Live from the Red Carpet is making more news 48 hours before its Oscars special. Aileen Gram-Moreno, who has worked as part-time producer for E! since 1990, filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Thursday, alleging she was fired after Eva Longoria said "We stand with you, Catt" at the end of an interview with Seacrest on the Golden Globes red carpet. It turns out, some of the red carpet interviews are pre-recorded, despite the show's title. And after Debra Messing criticized E! on the Globes red carpet over Sadler's allegation of unequal pay, E! instructed producers to flag any further mention of Sadler, according to Gram-Moreno. “They said, if there’s any mention of Catt in the preshow, make sure you flag it,” said Gram-Moreno. “You’re censoring celebrities; it’s just not a good idea in my humble opinion. But it wasn’t my decision.” Gram-Moreno says she listened to most of the Longoria clip, but missed the part about Sadler. E! president Adam Stotsky says there was no attempt to censor celebrities, pointing to the fact that mentions of Sadler were broadcast and that the clips are on E!'s website. He did admit, though, that E! wanted to know if Sadler's name would be mentioned ahead of time. An E! spokesperson says of Gram-Moreno: “She was asked not to return due to job performance issues. Ms. Gram-Moreno filed her legal claim after her request for a financial settlement was turned down.”

"The Oscars red carpet will be the culmination of an extraordinary season in Hollywood," Daniel D'Addario says of the #MeToo and Time's Up movements. "Given the general tone of the conversation around workplace assault and the responsibilities Seacrest bears in general, the best thing, for Seacrest and for his audience, would be to step away from the spotlight," he says. "The problem is that he can’t." D'Addario adds: "In the most hospitable of years, Seacrest’s presence amidst a story like this would be odd and uncomfortable but surmountable. But this year, the topic on the red carpet has been sexual assault in Hollywood, a topic that Seacrest now cannot realistically broach without creating a situation that’s more than embarrassing. It’s one in which he, presently embroiled in a scandal, can’t be an impartial interviewer. It does him no good to be on the red carpet but it also does no good to stars who might have something to say about the biggest Hollywood story in a generation or more, or to viewers hoping to soak up what seems to be a new frankness that’s come over the red carpet."

Lawrence seemed unaware of the sexual harassment allegations against Seacrest when Stern brought them up in an interview Wednesday morning, asking if she would shun him on the Oscars red carpet. “I can’t imagine him being sexual,” she said. When pressed, she added: "I don’t know. I mean there is a lot to think about with E!, you know?” Lawrence has supported Catt Sadler in the former E! News host's pay dispute with the entertainment network, and the two have reportedly teamed up for a #MeToo and Time's Up-themed TV docuseries. Speaking of Sadler, Lawrence said, "I have noticed that they keep cycling these women and I am going — that is just so you, is that so you don’t have to pay another women equally to Jason (Kennedy)? Is this just a way to still maintaining that you are not paying women equally?" Additionally, Lawrence said, "I have always had a problem with the Fashion Police. I don’t have a problem with talking about what women are wearing. There was a time there where, they were just mean, about people’s bodies, things you shouldn’t say.” Going back to the Seacrest allegations, Lawrence said, “I think it is scary, you know. He has not been to trial for anything. I am not a judge. I am not a jury, you know. I don’t know, that that, that is where this stuff gets tricky.”

But don't expect Kimmel to bring up Seacrest's sexual harassment scandal. “He’s interviewing me," Kimmel points out. Meanwhile, Kimmel says of the Seacrest allegations: "Listen, you know, we should at the very least afford people the opportunity for truth, what the facts of the story are before hanging them out to dry."

"She would go to tie his shoe and Ryan would shove her head toward his crotch," the former co-worker said onthe Today show, which used to employ Seacrest. "I saw that more than once," he added. NBC News says it is "withholding the man's name because he still works in Hollywood and fears retaliation." NBC and E! are corporate siblings. ALSO: Did Kelly Ripa shade Seacrest this morning on Live?

Despite Seacrest denying the allegations by his ex-stylist and E! exonerating him after an investigation, some PR reps are saying "why risk it?" when it comes to Sunday's Oscars red carpet, according to Page Six. As Oli Coleman reports: "Given the white-hot emotions and politics surrounding Hollywood abuse — and the seriousness of the allegations made against Seacrest — the flacks said they would instead direct their clients to Seacrest’s co-host, Giuliana Rancic, or skip E! altogether."